SOKOTO: Gov Tambuwal arrests driver, 8 passengers for flouting lockdown directive

The Governor of Sokoto, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal has ordered the arrest of a bus driver and eight passengers for flouting the state’s border closure directive aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19.

Muhammad Bello, the Governor’s special adviser on media and public affairs in a statement on Thursday said that Tambuwal was on his way back from Tureta Local Government Area bordering Sokoto and Zamfara states when he flagged down a vehicle.

He said that on interrogation, the governor discovered that it was a commercial bus conveying passengers out of the state, reason he ordered their arrest and prosecution for violating the state border closure directive.

READ ALSO: US evacuates 997 nationals from Nigeria over COVID-19

Further reports reveal that all passengers of the bus were to be interrogated by concerned authorities to know their culpability and would be charged to court as directed by the governor.

The development came after the Rivers State government led by Governor Nyesom Wike temporarily relaxed the restrictions on large religious gatherings to enable Christians to carry out their religious obligations during the Easter period.

Governor Wike announced the ease of the restrictions on Thursday in the capital of Port Harcourt while also noting that the directive also permitted the Muslim community to observe their Jumaat prayers within the period.

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